This invention relates to containers and, more particularly, to automatic dispensing containers for granular materials such as dry pet foods.
In the construction of automatic dispensing containers, the advantages of inexpensive, disposable containers which adequately control the rate at which materials are dispensed have long been recognized. However, dispensing containers adapted for use with granular materials have not achieved these objects in an entirely satisfactory manner. With particular reference to dry feed for animals, the prior art has failed to provide a container which is both inexpensive and disposable and which will properly dispense the dry feed at a controllable rate. For example, one prior art dispensing container disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,826 uses a separate, reuseable, tray like structure to support the container and to regulate the dispensing rate of the container. This support structure requires periodic cleaning as it is not disposable, and it increases the cost of the feeder. Other prior art containers have not provided adequate means for regulating the rate at which the granular material is dispensed, resulting in a dispensing rate which may be either greater or less than that required. Moreover, these containers have often been formed in external configurations which are not easily stacked for storage, transportation, or display.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an inexpensive, disposable container which dispenses the granular contents of the container at an appropriate rate. It is a further object that the container be so constructed as to permit a rectangular external configuration to facilitate stacking and storage.